Religious Holiday Observance Policy

Consistent with our commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and access, SIT acknowledges and respects a student’s right to partake in religious observances. A “religious practice or belief” is a practice or observance that includes moral or ethical beliefs and that are sincerely held with the strength of religious views.

SIT runs culturally embedded programs. Due to the unique nature of our programs with travel itineraries, excursions, and occasional weekend programming, programs observe local cultural, religious, and national holidays and some program activities may be scheduled during religious observances.

SIT will make every reasonable effort to allow members of the SIT community to observe their religious holidays without jeopardizing the fulfillment of their academic obligations. There will be no penalty for single-day approved absences due to religious observances. Weekly, reoccurring, or religious observances that last more than one consecutive day (i.e. Ramadan, Shabbat, etc.) need to be approved prior to program start to ensure that the student will not miss critical academic components of the program. We recommend students ask their admissions counselor during the confirmation process about what accommodations can be made for their specific desired program.

Faculty:

  1. Faculty are encouraged to consult the SIT Religious Multi-Faith Calendars when developing course syllabi. Every effort should be made to avoid scheduling exams and major course requirements on major religious holidays.
  2. Faculty will provide course syllabi at the beginning of each program or term that specify dates of exams and due dates of assignments.
  3. Faculty will ensure that resources for the content provided will be made available.

Students:

  1. Students who anticipate observing weekly, reoccurring, or ongoing religious observances (more than one consecutive day) should reach out to the Office of Student Health, Safety, and Well-being before confirming admission on their program to ensure they will not miss critical academic components and their schedule can be accommodated.
  2. Students who anticipate being absent for religious reasons should notify faculty and the Office of Student Health Safety and Wellbeing ([email protected]) three weeks in advance for approval.
  3. There will be no penalty for approved absences due to a religious observance.
  4. The student will be provided with an opportunity to make up an examination, study, or work requirement missed due to a religious observance, provided that such makeup examination or work does not create an unreasonable burden upon the program faculty.
  5. It is the student’s responsibility to catch up on any missed academic work, materials discussed, and assignments given during their absence. The student is responsible for meeting all course requirements and submitting all assigned work.

Students must request religious holiday observance approval to be absent from scheduled program/course activities including but not limited to: lectures, exams, assignment submissions, presentations, site visits, and excursions. Students must petition for single-day approved absences for religious observation at least three weeks in advance of the holiday. If asked, the student should provide accurate information about the obligations entailed in the observance of that holiday. Due to the unique nature of SIT programs, observance of religious holidays may look different than your home practice and SIT will approve accommodations as best we can, but we may not be able to accommodate students’ requests fully.

Successful approval of these requests have been handled by informal discussions among students, faculty, and administrators, but should you require assistance in securing religious accommodations please contact our Student Health, Safety, and Well-being department at [email protected].

In the event the individual feels they are being deprived of the opportunity to access the academic program due to lack of religious accommodation, the individual should file a grievance following SIT’s Grievance Policy.

Definitions:

Approved Absence for Religious Observance – An approved request from a student by the following parities: program faculty, Student Health, Safety, and Well-being, and the Office of the Provost for a student to miss and make up various program components including: lectures, exams, assignment submissions, presentations, site visits, and excursions.

Religious Observance – A “religious practice or belief” that includes moral or ethical beliefs and that are sincerely held with the strength of religious views.